The Watchtower of Destruction: The Ferrett's Journal - Icon't Do It
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09:09 am
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Icon't Do It
Yesterday, I posted a picture of my serial killer, Brady-rhapsody face, and  terpsichoros turned it into an icon. And my response, nice though it was to have another icon of myself, was, "Where would I put it?"
The funny thing is that I can't handle too many icons. My wife has fifty-someodd pictures to place next to her entries, but me? I don't like having that many to sort through. I spend enough time working on the stupid entries as it is, fine-tuning the words and making sure the paragraphs have a nice flow to them; wasting another couple of minutes deciding the right icon to decorate said entry would be an additional aspect of consideration that would make it Not Fun.
It's like shoes. I like having two pairs of shoes. Am I going running? It's the sneakers. Is it a formal day? It's the brown formal shoes. I'm done.
If I had a closet full of shoes, I'd be paralyzed by the choice. I'd be trying to decide if the pointy-toed scarlet shoe went better with my outfit than the round-tipped fuschia, and that in turn would mean that perhaps my pants could change to meet the shoes, and maybe the top needs work, and I'd spend the entire day fretting that perhaps I could have made a better choice. Far better to have one style of black T-shirt, a pair of black pants, and sneakers; you may not be able to go particularly right, but you can't go wrong.
Each icon serves a very particular purpose. Watch my most popular icons!
This icon was taken of me at my birthday, when my wife surprised me with a picnic and birthday cupcakes on the Fourth of July. It's not the greatest picture, but it does mean love to me - my wife really went all-out to make sure I felt special on that day. Hence, it's reserved for posts about "love of my wife" and "love of my country," (a.k.a. "all political posts").
This was a picture of me drawn by grailquestion, and I like the idea of a transformed me. Basically, this isn't Ferrett proper; it's Ferrett as others see him, which means there's that strange distance between the "me" of this journal and the "me" that really exists deep down. Hence, I use this exclusively for times when I'm commenting on the "me" of others - which is to say, how I perceive other artists. In practice, this means it's invariably my go-to icon when I'm reviewing someone else's movie/comic/art.
Contrary to popular belief, this is not me - it's a photo of one of the more iconic costumes at Dragon*Con. Apparently, the guy's a regular as Buddy Christ. Still, I thought it was a great shot of the guy, and I wanted it because I frequently speak from the pulpit on love, sex, and how to lead an exemplary life. This icon reminds me not to get too serious about it, and hopefully reminds others that they're reading the oh-so-serious words of a man who uses a Buddy Christ icon, for God's sake.
The South Park me. Perhaps the most accurate image of myself, for I usually look like this. Used when I'm about to get really foul and discuss bodily fluids in a humorous way... Not that I'm a patch on Parker and Stone, but one can try.
The Lady of Pain - the unquestioned ruler of Sigil in the RPG setting Planescape, a woman with a bladed head in a city full of thorns. The Lady is a mystery; nobody knows how she got there, or even what the extent of her powers are. She never speaks, nor even shows up at court. But if the people of Sigil get out of line, her shadow will fall over them - and the edge of her shadow is sharper than a thousand razors, and if you're swept into her embrace you tumble out in bloody ribbons.
I use this when I am speaking ex cathedra. I know I'm right, dammit. Don't question me.
There are other icons, of course, and each of them has a place. But if I had sixty icons, then the number of shades of meaning I'd have would be so fine that I wouldn't be sure when to use them - should I use my "ironic" icon for this cute post discussing something stupid I saw, or perhaps a "I'm laughing" icon, or maybe even that nifty "eye-rolling" icon I should drag out more? I'd spend a lot of time considering, and it would probably be a judgment call that I wouldn't want to make. My icons are short and sweet and punchy, and that's fine by me.
That said, there is a slot open. This photo is of my past, and I don't have a "Young and Stupid Ferrett" icon to use when I'm telling tales of the incredibly idiotic things I did when I was still seriously trying to find where I was. I often talk about how I felt when I was still engaging in psychodrama, and if anything shows the difference between then and now it's this faded, scratchy picture....
Congrats, terpsichoros. Another one made it in.
Damn you and your closet full of shoes.
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| | On another note, the first icon you mentioned (your politcal one), also looks like one of the band members of Barenaked Ladies. You should shave off your beard more regularly. You could get paid as a look-alike! Hell, I've got a half-dozen icons and can never bother to remember to change it from the default.
Except now, of course, because I like irony. :-P I, on the other hand, have 113 icons out of 113 slots, and I get frustrated whenever I want to upload a new one and have to get rid of one of my babies, and it's worse when I can picture an icon to convey a mood, and yet have nothing uploaded or even on my harddrive that fits. There are probably a dozen or so that I use regularly, another dozen or two that have been perfect at least once, and a bunch that get pulled out in a blue moon but are good to have handy.
(And of course, I don't have one I'd consider "right" for this comment.. Sigh.) ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/113338607/2788060) | | From: | ba1126 |
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| Date: | December 7th, 2006 04:14 pm (UTC) |
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I have one. My son made it for me.It always seems to fit, somehow. I still like mine.
I will reserve it for commenting on your journal. Exclusivly. Others wouldn't get why it makes me giggle. Also, an HTML nitpick. The "My icons" link brings us to the generic "Edit userpics" page, not to your icon list. Meaning anyone who clicks it will be brought to their own "Upload a userpic". I like this post. I think I'll do the same.
Basically, this isn't Ferrett proper; it's Ferrett as others see him
You mean, with his hair combed and his beard neatly trimmed? Which "others" would that be? ;)
(BTW, a brief bit of comment-whoring here: I wrote an entry yesterday about James Kim and am curious as to what you would think about it as a piece of writing. You're one of the better wordsmiths I know, and your honest opinion would be valued.) I appreciate the explanation of the icon usage. I still hate the mustard-colored tarantula; but it's not like I can really control what you do in your own journal. (In other words, I'll live.)
You didn't explain my favorite of your icons, though. The silly face with the neon-plastic tubing about the head. Although, I guess it is rather self-explanatory.
And, since it seems as good a place as any: You rock, generally. And that's a Good Thing. Okay, I'm a total goober... I was thinking "Wow, One of my real life friends influenced a Ferrett post!" Silly girl, that I am. Me too. =)
Nice to see Terps work getting a larger venue.
Zhaneel Watch my most popular icons!
...yet the icon used for this post didn't make it into the list...
I use the Lady of Pain icon (which, incidentally I stole from ye, cutter) as my default icon because I'm right as a default. Now you need to go back and change all your past posts that need this icon. I don't know if I missed it, but were you at dragon*con this year? If not, are you going in 2007? |
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