4/22/17 FB Post – Much Flame and Moth

Oh my. That instantly fills me with such violent connotations. Burn, don’t be burnt.

Should we expect any fires soon, metaphorical or otherwise? And who shall be the one(s) setting them ablaze?

I think we all know @genghistwan will be involved somehow.

It seems to be more about the idea of attraction to me than the concept of burning or being burnt… we all spend so much time and energy tying to move toward that which we are drawn, and when we get it, what then? At best, we dodge the flame and move on, but toward what? The next light, and the next, and so on and so forth… until when? Perhaps we must become our own flame, and remain still.

@prufrock5150 that’s how I feel about it as well.

Yeah, that saying for me has always been more about being a leader than a follower. Being the type of person that attracts others to your brilliance instead of chasing after it to your own detriment.

What burns the brightest is the sun and we all know what happens when you fly too close to the sun.

I have such a different read on this. (I know. Act surprised.)

There are these awfully crappy books out there, the Meredith Gentry books – I only read the first 2 I think, trying to read something dark/fun/erotic/supernatural. But there’s this one thing that happens in the beginning of the first one that has stuck with me since I read it despite how I felt about the rest of the book. Somethingsomething a fairy (who has no powers) is having sex with a selkie (who doesn’t have his sealskin), and she suddenly gets her powers – and in getting her powers, he gets his skin back. And instantly, he leaves and goes back to the ocean, without a second thought. I’ve been stuck on this since then, wondering what it is that could consume me so intensely that I would just go after it, regardless of consequences. Several years ago I tried making a short opera with a collaborator in Dallas about this but the concept got a bit lost in translation, and I’m still thinking about it.

The moth/flame thing is, to me, about that consumption. I’m drawn to and seek out the things that *may* consume me, for better or for worse – projects that I can lose myself in and that will make me forget to eat or leave my office long after the sun has set at night, obsessions I can drown in and learn everything about, adventures I just have to have. I am this guy. Most of it is about forgetting myself and my own mind and my own reality for a period of time – I’d imagine that what some people do with drugs or alcohol I do by overworking myself (and occasionally, like the other night, alcohol, sorry guys). I need to stop thinking, analyzing, and being me for a minute. If the flame takes everything, all of me – well, I view it as an acceptable risk, if there’s a small chance of a moment of quiet, peace, fulfillment in there.

I’m definitely thinking about this more in terms of attraction than in terms of destruction, but I’m sure both are applicable. I’m reminded of the monkey joke, how he entertained and attracted everyone’s attention in the bar. Many of us, myself included, have grown very attracted to one or both of the Sinclairs, however reserved or morbid that fascination might be.

Whatever the flame and moth represent (if they “represent” anything), my question is: how could we be expected to reverse the dynamic? Who are we going to attract and how?

@thebuz You get an awesome tan?

Late to this post.

@thebuz

@shaun

My name Twan or ตะวัน literally means Sun

Whether I light the fire or watch others light the fire…

Whether I walk into the flames or watch other people walk into the flames…

I just want to watch things burn