I rarely write no more, me

[solongleonard]

I would love to come and visit you again, maybe it will happen next summer

I will come with my new partner

[LisaLCFan]

...my car is a write-off but i am fine, just a damaged foot. i was writing on my phone for someone to come and get me and a lady took my picture...

You seem to have a lot of car accidents -- you have mentioned several times that you have had them -- every few months, it seems -- sustaining minor injuries each time. Perhaps you ought to try to drive more carefully? Or, maybe you just like all the attention it brings!

Oh, and another photo of you! We haven't seen one of those for a few days. We do know what you look like -- are you afraid that we'll forget? I'm beginning to think that you're a narcissist, constantly posting photos of yourself and telling us how popular you are. (Oh, I know, you will deny that vehemently!)

Am I not being reverent enough? Obsequiousness has never been my forte.

Have a lovely day, and for god's sake, drive carefully.

[Geoffrey]

LisaLCFan wrote:
>You seem to have a lot of car accidents -- you have mentioned several times that you have had them -- every few months, it seems -- sustaining minor injuries each time. Perhaps you ought to try to drive more carefully? Or, maybe you just like all the attention it brings!
>
>Oh, and another photo of you! We haven't seen one of those for a few days. We do know what you look like -- are you afraid that we'll forget? I'm beginning to think that you're a narcissist, constantly posting photos of yourself and telling us how popular you are. (Oh, I know, you will deny that vehemently!)
>
>Am I not being reverent enough? Obsequiousness has never been my forte.
>
>Have a lovely day, and for god's sake, drive carefully.

thank you, lisa. to simply judge someone as a possible narcissist does not, in itself, offer very much information. narcissism is an 'umbrella' word, covering various positive and negative definitions. i believe you are referring to the latter. unhealthy narcissism (NPD) is more or less to be preoccupied with self to the exclusion of others - and yet i am greatly interested in others. in any case, if i had to choose between being afflicted with pathological narcissism and passive aggression, i would probably choose the former
https://youtu.be/Ihu3k_j3KQk

[LisaLCFan]

...if i had to choose between being afflicted with pathological narcissism and passive aggression, i would probably choose the former...

Touché.

[solongleonard]

Tread lightly, Lisa. You may not know but some time ago Geoffrey had a car accident. He suffered a number of minor injuries including to his lumbar region at vertebrae L5. Unusually, the treating surgeon was accompanied by a nearly qualified psychiatrist. She found that he had a "nasty cist", thus confirming, as I had always suspected, that you are actually a Medic,with a speciality of Mental Health issues. And your personality diagnosis of the patient was "spot on". Well, spot on technically. I am not convinced that this is only about a condition where Geoffrey has an inflated sense of his own importance, and a deep need for excessive attention.

The second part,is perhaps correct, but here are my thoughts on the first part.

Geoffrey is a very talented visual artist. In this small community his work is outstanding. Perhaps elsewhere it would be only "very good". Sometimes, I believe, Geoffrey is lacking stimulation here, sometimes he is utterly bored. His presentation of his own skill is appropriate. His presentation of his personal "status" is really fine. I find it expressed with a light(ish) touch, with a reserve safety position that he may just be teasing.

I long to see good writing here. I, too, am a very talented practitioner of my art. I would love to read stimulating pieces and talented offerings. Mediocrity would be an excessive claim for the occasional prose or poetry posted on this forum. I am disappointed that neither yourself nor Karen, do not share more. You are a field ahead of the few who do post completed, (but dire), pieces.

This was a fairly random "intervention" by me in response to your, rather harsh, intervention about a dear friend of mine.

[Geoffrey]

...if i had to choose between being afflicted with pathological narcissism and passive aggression, i would probably choose the former...

Touché.

thank you, lisa, for your disyllabic response. this area of psychology is so filled both with complexities and contentiousness that i hesitate to offer an equally succinct comeback. suffice to say, there are those (introverts, echoists, insecure people, etc.) who would not dare post a picture of themselves, either due to a bad self-image, fear of being labelled 'narcissist' - or whatever. this is what makes life so fascinating, why psychology is such an endlessly absorbing subject. it was good of you to honestly write about what thoughts circulate in your mind. it is the reason your interaction is highly valued
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... bel-around

for anyone interested in the human condition (as was leonard cohen), a selection of old 'film board of canada' videos depicting real people, as opposed to actors:
https://youtu.be/gYwGmWWxY48
https://youtu.be/IehtMYlOuIk
https://youtu.be/O3kXYIZXPcU
https://youtu.be/VZZMcg_5Tng
https://youtu.be/1YVKeEgtxaA
https://youtu.be/nwCAP7YjzVw

[Geoffrey]

This was a fairly random "intervention" by me in response to your, rather harsh, intervention about a dear friend of mine.

hello dear friend. sometimes i get the impression you and curt are defending me in some way, and that is a very kind thing to do. there is no need, however, as i enjoy dynamics, and neuroticism and hostility are quite unrelated - at least in my opinion. i am very fond of lisa; she is intelligent, creative, never boring - and often hides a small element of humour between her lines.

by the way, of course you and your new partner are welcome to my humble home at any time. we can take another drive into the mountains

-g

[LisaLCFan]

Geoffrey: Please accept my apologies for my unnecessarily harsh comments. As you know, I do have a tendency to tell it like I see it, with my words often dripping with sarcasm (or at least, that's my intention!). I am fully aware of the fact that: a) I could be wrong in how I see things; and, b) regardless of the accuracy (or lack thereof) of my perceptions, I do not have to be so bluntly honesty in expressing them (even though I admit that I find it difficult to resist). We all have our quirks, do we not?

As for my comment about narcissism, I was merely thinking of the person of Narcissus in Greek mythology (not the psychological condition of NPD), who fell in love with his own reflection and gazed upon himself endlessly.

[LisaLCFan]

...there are those (introverts, echoists, insecure people, etc.) who would not dare post a picture of themselves, either due to a bad self-image, fear of being labelled 'narcissist' - or whatever....

I have, actually, posted pictures of myself on this forum in the past, thus I have no qualms about doing so -- it is simply not a regular habit of mine, and I do not give it a second thought. I cannot speak for anyone else. I think that one can read many things into a person's every action (or inaction) -- but sometimes one may read into them far too many things, ascribing motives and reasons that simply do not exist. (As I have noted previously, such perceptions and assessments of other people may not always be correct.)

Although I have absolutely no reason to post a picture of myself, neither do I have a reason not to, and therefore, here you go (make of it what you will! ). Cheers!

[Geoffrey]

hello lisa. thank you for the apology. it is appreciated, but you need not think much about it. you are you, i am me, everyone is a product of their personal history - as joyous or hurtful as it may have been. i've heard it said that we see in others what we fear in ourselves, and there may or may not be some truth in that. one thing is sure, however: it is virtually impossible to criticise someone without simultaneously revealing a negative side to one's own personality. were i to choose between interacting with a sycophant or a denigrator, it would be the latter every time, and i hasten to add that this is no reference to yourself.

call me eccentric, but it has long been a private hobby of mine to compile psychological profiles on people with whom i interact, but this is merely as a student of human behaviour making analytical evaluations, and perhaps to prevent me from making too many blunders during communication. no one need be alarmed, as my findings are confidential.

local internet connection is soon due to be cut for a while, according to a message that recently came into my telephone. repair work needs to be done on some broadband cables, apparently. before i am disconnected, though, let me thank you for that lovely, happy photograph! you like to decorate your walls, fill your shelves with books and ornaments (i can just about make out a cockerel and a footprint). i already knew from the artwork you've posted that you love colour, and your clothes (hand knitted cardigan?) tell me the same. thank you for sharing this

cheers!

[solongleonard]

The “nasty cist” gag was excellent. It tied in perfectly with car accident issue. I deserved to post my photo for that one

[LisaLCFan]

The “nasty cist” gag was excellent...

Yes, indeed, it was -- all of your comments were duly noted, I assure you! You certainly deserve to have your photo toasted for that -- salute!

Nonetheless, please forgive my failure to state my admiration for your virtuosic word-smithery, but I was somewhat busy trying to atone for my previous indiscretions. I shall, yet again, try to do better in future when it comes to how I respond (or do not respond) to the posts of others. (While that may sound characteristically mordacious, I do actually mean it! )

[its4inthemorning]

hello dear friend. sometimes i get the impression you and curt are defending me in some way,

were i to choose between interacting with a sycophant or a denigrator, it would be the latter every time,

Geoffrey, I was drawn here by your drawings, and then by the things you say and the interesting way you say them which are selfish motives since I am using you for my entertainment. This forum is the only online medium that I choose to participate in or view. I have a very low opinion of social media and forums, and perhaps the only reason I come to this forum is that it has been pre-screened to only admit those exceptional enough to have had the wherewithal to discover the genius of Leonard Cohen. Given that context, I try to be civil and not wear out my welcome, I really have no interest in long-distance anonymous repartee.

I am not sure when, or for what, I defended you, and if I did, sobeit, but I am certainly no one's sycophant.

As for photographs, I see that you have finally convinced Lisa to post hers. At the risk of being sycophantic, I will opine that it is a nice happy pose. When I grew up my family took photographs of everyone and everything. Then as my siblings married and the extended family grew, each person with a camera had to take the same photos, so every event was like the photo session that follows a wedding. My defense mechanism was to grow to hate cameras and picture-taking, and so I have never had a camera nor missed owning one. Then, against all odds the woman I married, God bless her, also had no interest in cameras. While we do have a number of photo albums in the house commemorating special events and trips, all the photos they contain were taken by others. So you see, while I would gladly post a photo of myself, I have none in digital format. (If Vickie reads this, maybe she can post one of the photos she took of me in Montreal or on Hydra.)

4

[Geoffrey]

hei curt. in case you are interested in the categories that define us, there is a .pdf link below. long ago i concluded that a person who has studied psychology knows less about the subject than someone who has not done so. the more one searches for information the more one becomes weighed down with question marks. virtually nothing seems to be clear cut, almost every diagnostic condition seems to encompass a labyrinth of multiple interpretations. most of us feel affronted when labelled 'not normal', and that is a normal reaction to have. our target is to be normal, to conform to the dull standards of society. this is something i learned as a young lad when david dolbear, my 'stepfather', said "that boy's not normal". that hurt me more than the lashings across my legs, because i didn't know at the time that it was an unintentional compliment.

i cannot write more exactly now, because there is much to do here before traveling north tomorrow. i would very much like to see a photograph of you, but only if you feel comfortable showing it. personally i detest showing pictures of myself, and that is why i do it. it is the same psychology behind why i go to the dentist more frequently than others, to prove to myself that fear should not be allowed to stunt actions. i don't think i can take credit for manipulating lisa into making public a photograph of herself. admittedly, i may have nudged her very slightly, but prefer to think it was she who ultimately made the decision.

https://cdn.website-editor.net/30f11123 ... %2520V.pdf
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/arti ... -is-normal

PS:
no, the circus has not come to town, it's only the bishop arriving at a funeral i attended some days ago.
this is called 'normal'. doesn't he look gorgeous!

[solongleonard]

wow, lockdown has not served you well, Geoffrey. You have put on tons of weight, your clothes are garish, and you have that Holier Than Thou look again. unimpressed by your new style