[Tidbits] Stick Out Your Tongue and Thumb Your Nose

Stick Out Your Tongue and Thumb Your Nose

I am not able to help myself. I am drawn to the macabre. I often
find beauty in ugliness while the inverse is rarely true. I can not
remember when I found ugliness in beauty. unless of course we go
beneath the surface of things. and then we’re talking an entirely
different story.

Imagine if you will that you are living with your people in a
culture that embraces symbolism. Your society is unified. Your
armies are strong. Your beliefs in YOUR divinities are unwavering.
Human sacrifice is a staple of your religion. You are happy.

Then one day a group lands upon your shores. Their skin is lighter
than yours. They sport beards. One look at these foreigners and it
becomes eminently apparent to your leaders–who have wisdoms beyond
all wisdoms–that these strangers are unequivocally messengers from
one of your gods. And so they are treated with reverence. till they
turn. and begin waging war upon your clan. You fight back with
armies that were deemed to be unconquerable. Alas. it is to no
avail. Your people are almost annihilated. It is a sad moment. You
are an Aztec. And the Conquistadors. led by Corts. have decimated
your population. You are forced to convert to Catholicism. It is
their way or the highway. Hip hip…

The question arises. How do you express your contempt for these
Spaniards? How do you show the world how you feel in a manner that
will carry your hatred through the eons from that world and into the
beyond?

Jewelry would be good. would it not? Well. yes and no. for this can
occasionally be a subjective matter of interpretation. Let us
postulate and extrapolate. Let us reason. Let us bring the scenario
into the present day with a few minor turns. You are married. You
have children. Your are a jeweler. You are earning a good income.
Suddenly some laws are changed. Killers are roaming the streets. The
economy is going down the tubes. A member of your family gets shot.
god forbid ptui ptui ptui spit three times. Your will to work is
ebbing. The IRS is on your tail. You need to create one more
masterpiece–before you give up the ghost–to show your hatred for
what the fates have foisted upon you.

Yesteryear. Today. Tomorrow. Human is human. You do what the Aztecs
did. You create a piece of jewelry in direct mimicry of an Aztec
skull born of sacrifice. The back of its head is gone. You give it a
name. You call it Heiswhoheis. And when you’re done you feel you’ve
finally–much as the Aztecs did. thumbed your nose and stuck your
tongue out at the world.

Success can sometimes be fleeting and nebulous. But success is
nevertheless always success. except of course for when it’s failure.
But now we’re treading into philosophies beyond the scope of this
Tidbits.

That said. who wants to see a skull as a charm. a copy of what
surely had been an Aztec expression of mockery for the human race to
look at. and perhaps one day understand itself? By a show of hands.
One. Two. Four. Seventy three. You know where. www.tyler-adam.com.
Scroll down. Left side. Tidbits. Click.

And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark