Friday, February 23, 2007

You love me, you really love me


[complete list of winners]

Well, well, what do you know?

Day Falstaff is thrilled about this. Night Falstaff is wondering if he's the only one who sees the irony in spending a lifetime trashing popular taste and then winning what is essentially a popularity contest [1].

The key with winning things like this, of course, is not to let it go to your head. Five minutes a day of telling yourself "I'm the greatest! I'm the greatest!" and before you know it you're invading Iran or turning into Wordsworth or marrying someone whose name sounds like an underwear brand and then shaving of all your hair as a way of coping. As my namesake would say: "If I do grow great, I'll grow less, for I'll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly as a nobleman should do."

Still, it feels like some sort of speech is in order (Shoefiend actually asked me for one). Something stirring and poetic. 'The blog was mine before I was the blog's'. That sort of thing. The trouble is, there's so little great poetry about winning. What can one say, after all? "Now all the truth is out / Be secret and take victory"? "Success is counted sweetest / By those who e'er succeed"? "Say nought the struggle plenty availeth"? "What though the field be won? / All is not won"? "The rest is cheerful music"? See what I mean?

At any rate: a big thank you to everyone who voted for me [2]. It's a great feeling to know that so many of you enjoy what I write. It's like my ego's been let out of the dark mines it usually slaves in to attend the company picnic. Tomorrow I'll probably go back to being insecure and depressed, but today is a good day.

I'd also like to thank (in no particular order) my parents, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Starbucks, the agent I may some day get, Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, all forms of dark chocolate, my advisor, Absolut Mandarin, the three and a half women who have ever smiled at me when I wasn't taking their photograph, Blogger (you are the wind beneath my widgets), Constantine Cavafy, the Indibloggies jury, heh heh and Zen for convincing me that this blogging thing may actually be worth doing, Humphrey Bogart, the folks behind the Yahoo News service who have provided me with so many things to make fun of, Salvador Dali, the sponsors of the contest (Black Panther, I love you, even though I have no idea what a gym kit is or what I could conceivably do with one), my fifth grade English teacher, Pablo Picasso, the geeks in school whose obsession with IIT-JEE convinced me I didn't want to be an engineer, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jacqueline du Pre, Mozilla, Lucky Gents Heir Cutting Saloon (my hair stylist), Netflix, the Van Pelt Library, Google, Anna Karina and the guy who gave me change for a 20 yesterday because really who carries around 4 fivers and is willing to part with them to a complete stranger?

Right, now to go see about those troop deployments.

Notes:

[1] Last heard, Night Falstaff was consoling himself with a half-empty bottle of scotch and the knowledge that 78.5% of the people who voted in the contest didn't think 2x3x7 was the best Humanities Indiblog.

[2] This includes those of you who voted for Momus. I'll be thinking of you when I finally kill myself while listening to Sinfonia Concertante.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What does one say?

Congratulations?
:)

PS : Dylan as story-teller, 200 words.

km said...

Winner is the new Loser?

you sellout!

Anonymous said...

Like I read on another blog, "you seek validation in all the wrong places".

Congratulations.

-RS

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. Does this go on your academic resume under "Publications"?

Can I steal your gym kit? And what's this about Sinfonia Concertante? Is the Philly Orch playing it this week? aaaaargh!!!

n!

Revealed said...

Or you could comfort yourself by thinking it's just a fad, a phase, and these but fair weather friends who do not truly appreciate your art :D

Congrats, btw (though I didn't vote, but only cos I'm lazy and honestly in my head I was voting for you :D)

Anonymous said...

congratulations! :)
Much joy comes...as soon you get around to do that "promised post"...
-TMWWT

Szerelem said...

Awww.....congratulations!!
See, we do love you...and now can you go back to being insecure and depressed so that we have some cynical and sarcastic posts to read?

Anonymous said...

might seem like cliche by now..anyways...Many congratulations to you 2x3x7.. and may you continue to write as beautifully as you have till now.. take care...

Falstaff said...

kk: Thanks. And ya, ya, okay.

km: Any club that would have me for a member, etc.

RS: Not true. I seek validation wherever I can get any.

n!: Ah, but having a cv would mean I was actually done with my PhD. Fat chance of that happening.

The killing yourself to S.C. is Sophie's Choice - something about having to pick one of your children over the other - oh, forget it.

revealed: Thanks. And not to worry - I didn't vote myself. I was too conflicted, so I took the easy / noble way out and abstained.

TMWWT: Thanks.

szerelem: Thanks. Be careful what you wish for.

anon: Thanks

greatbong said...

Congratulations !

Anonymous said...

ah I see. sorry I skipped the suicidal part, sophie.

n!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations ! I so wanted to vote but for once real life got in the way. This is an amazing blog where I try to legitimately waste time.

Chetan Rao said...

Err... you don't like Wordsworth?

The One said...

Congratulations Falstaff....

I think it was my vote that tipped the scales in your favor...you owe me one for that!

How about a long fiction story (no 55 words please)..something along the lines of Murakami...

Now don't pretend you have something better to do on the weekend!

Anonymous said...

I love you, I really do.

-me!

PS: So, m prolly goin to say this in every post of urs..so, blah...

Tabula Rasa said...

:-)

okay, now a night falstaff post on the same theme, please.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!
I second TR. A night Falstaff post on this would be great.

Anonymous said...

'Lucky Gents Heir Cutting Saloon' yeah that sounds familiar... i am guessing we live close by.

;)

ps: just so there is no confusion, i dont go there tho